Manually maneuverable weed burner



Feb. 20, 1951 HOGENSON 2,542,525

MANUALLY MANEUVERABLE WEED BURNER Filed Nov. 29, 1949 Ole L. l-loyens'onINVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 20, 1951 UN I TED S RATE N T O F F I C E EUVERABLE WEEDBURNER .OleZL. iogenson, Win r Minn- Application NOVCIIiblEl 29,1'949,-Serial-No.'12;);886 I .1 This invention relates to certainnewrand-zuse- 'ful improvements in portable manually maneuverable:burners for weeds andunderbrush :and has :reference in particular :to'those types which have a .suitable handle and a freely turnable drum orcylinder'which, iproperly ignited and flaming like .a :toroh, isgenerally rolled overthe surface or, where small enough, is carried inones hand and brought into contact with the weeds in a manner to set theweeds and underbrush on fire.

As. is evident from the ,forc oine introduct ry statement of theinvention. weediburners which are either hand-carriedlike a torch .orsteered and rolled'by a walking attendant are many and varied .:in typesand constructions. They differ from one-another in..one wayxor'anothenstructurally construed,.and. are .used with varying :degrees ofsatisfactionsand success.

.In some :types, a ground roller or cylinder :is used and, in others afuel tank is strapped on the attendants hack and the burner or torch ismanipulated by hand. In the belief that these prior art constructionsare objectionable for one reason or another, it is the object of thepresent invention to provide a structure which, it is felt, betterfulfills the requirements of manufacturers and users.

riefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention has to dowith a simple, practical and economical manually maneuverable devicewhich is characterized by a hollow handle throughwhich volatile fuel isadapted to be supplied, preferably under pressure, a spray nozzlemounted on the discharge end of the handle for emitting the fuel inmist-like jets, a lightweight but sturdy frame structure supported fromthe nozzle-equipped end of the handle, and a freely rollable drum inline with the nozzle and mounted for rotation in the frame.

Novelty is predicated on the one hand, on the combination of partsdepicted in Fig. 1 of the drawings and, on the other hand, on the frame,screen roller and clamp, the attachment, shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

More specifically, novelty has to do with frame means which isdetachably applicable to the nozzle-equipped end of spray-type fuelpipe, there being a screen roller mounted in said frame means and saidroller being hollow so that when the wires get hot they vaporize thefuel and provide a ground contacting rotating torch.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

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"Fig. 'is -a -cross='section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,lookingin thedirectionof the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings'and particularly-toFigrl the reach pipe,which is the handle -proper, is denoted by the numeral 6 and is providedat the upward 'end with a suitable hand grip 8. The hand "grip hasLa-mount-IO thereon to accommodate a fitting t2 to which the fuel supplyline i4 is connected. The laterallycurved end of the fuel line, theportion I6, is in communication with the fuel passage in the handle. As-

shown in Fig. 2 the discharge end of the handle is provided with a spraynozzle or head I8 from which the fuel, under pressure, is emitted inmisty streams or jets as shown.

The frame unit is denoted by the numeral 20 and includes a pair ofspaced parallel side members 22 and 24 of duplicate construction. Theforward ends of said members are provided with bearings to accommodateend-journals 26 on opposite ends of a hollow screen wire drum orcylinder 28. This is sometimes referred to as a rotary torch or,alternatively, as a flaming ground contacting roller. It will be notedthat the rearward end of the frame members are curved and bent laterallytoward each other as at 30 and .32 and then pent again into straightparallelism as at 34 and 36 where they are disposed in spaced relationto the nozzle-equipped end of the handle. End portions 34 and 36 aresecured to the handle by a two-part or sectional clamp 38. The sectionshave semi-circular bends 49 which embrace the pipe and have outstandingfiat portions 42 and 44 secured together by bolts or equivalentfastenings 46. The free ends are formed into coasting jaws or jawportions 48 and .50 which are releasably engaged with the ends oradapters 34 and 36. The clamp may be slid along the handle to positionthe screened roller closer to or farther from the nozzle.

It will be obvious that the volatile jets of misty fuel shot through theorifices in the nozzle 18 will be projected to stream against the wiresof the hollow roller or drum 28. By igniting the fuel, an intense flamewill be built up around the roller and applied by the latter to destroyweeds, underbrush and debris, in an obvious manner.

It will be evident from the specification and complemental drawings thatthe invention, as a general rule, will take the form of a, freelyrollable ground contacting drum or screen which,

for the most part, comes into travelling contact with the surface of theground as theattendant pushes and pulls same by way of the handle means.I desire to have it understood, however, that both the screen drum andframe structure may be made much smaller and lighter in weight so that asimple attachment will thus be had which could be readily applied tovarious types of weed burners of the "flame thrower types. That is tosay, there are certain types which have to do with a tank which isstrapped or otherwise mounted on the back of the attendant and which hasrigid nozzle means attached to the tank by way of a flexible hose. Theattachment herein shown and described would be attached to the rigidpipe which carries the spray nozzle, obviously. Therefore it is desiredthat the attachment be visualized as either a ground roller type or, ifpreferred, as a smaller type which can be conveniently carried in oneshand.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction withthe invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader toobtain a clear understanding and'impression of the alleged features ofmerit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

what is 1. An attachment for the nozzle equipped end of ,a fueldelivering handle comprising a frame embodying spaced parallel framemembers, a sectional clamp adapted to be detachably and adjustablymounted on the nozzle equipped end of said handle, said frame membersbeing detachably and adj ustably joined at their rearward ends with saidclamp, the forward ends of said members having bearings, and a hollowscreen wire drum parallel to said clamp and located between the forwardends of said members and having end-journals mounted for rotation insaid bearings, said drum being adapted to occupy a position in the pathof fuel which is sprayed from said nozzle.

2. A portable weed burner adapted to be maneuvered by a walkingattendant comprising a, hollow handle through which a yolatile fuel isadapted to flow, a spray nozzle mounted on the discharge end of saidhandle, a clamp mounted on'said handle adjacent to said nozzle, a pairof spaced parallel frame members connected at corresponding rearwardends to said clamp, and a hollow screen wire cylinder mounted for freerotation between the forward ends of said members and spaced from andlined up with said nozzle to receive fuel which is sprayed from thelatter.

OLE L. HOGENSON.

REFERENCES CITED "The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 369,896 Vacher Sept. 13, 1887832,266 Marley Oct. 2, 1906 1,124,723 Garstang Jan. 12, 1915 401,921,901 Anderson Aug. 8, 1933

